Get Your Medals

Did you know that you can get one free set of your earned military medals and ribbons? While it does take a little time and patience, the U.S. government through the National Archives branch in St. Louis will get you what you earned. Similar to requesting records, you need to read the information below which is directly from the Archives website. You will need to click on the correct branch of service link below, then follow the directions.

***Do you already have your records and just want to purchase your medals or ribbons? My favorite source for these is Medals of America. They have a fabulous selection and nice quality that will not break the bank.

How Do I Request Military Awards and Decorations?

For the Veteran: in general, the military services will work replacement medal requests for the veteran at no cost. This includes family members with the signed authorization of the veteran.

For the Next-of-Kin: the process (and cost) for replacement medals requests differs among the service branches and is dependent upon who is requesting the medal, particularly if the request involves an archival record. Click here for details.

Important Information for the Next-of-Kin (NOK):

For the Army, the NOK is defined as: the surviving spouse, eldest child, father or mother, eldest sibling or eldest grandchild

If you do not meet the definition of NOK, you are considered a member of the general public.

How the type of record (archival or non-archival) affects NOK requests for medals:

The Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) is used to verify awards to which a veteran may be entitled. OMPFs are accessioned into the National Archives, and become archival, 62 years after the service member's separation from the military. This is a rolling date; hence, the current year, 2011, minus 62 years is 1949. Records with a discharge date of 1949 or prior are archival and are open to the public. Records with a discharge date of 1949 or after are non-archival and are maintained under the Federal Records Center program. Non-archival records are subject to access restrictions. As such, the veteran's date of separation (separation is defined as discharge, retirement or death in service) will affect how the request is processed. See below: